Professional Tutoring vs Quick-Fix Tutoring

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The Eye of the Storm Syndrome

During the initial consultation and assessment, I warn new students and their parents about something I’ve come to know as The Eye of the Storm Syndrome.

The Eye of the Storm Syndrome is very common; and it is, in my opinion, the most difficult hurdle professional tutors have to overcome early in the tutor/student relationship.

Let’s get the Quick-Fix Tutoring out of the way first, though. Quick-Fix Tutoring is what we at Westside Tutoring and Testing Services call putting out fires. It should be fairly obvious what I mean by putting out fires…it’s simply dealing with whatever is next and, usually, what is causing the student the most trouble at the moment.

The Quick-Fix Tutor may be adequate in the short-run, hence the designation as a Quick-Fix Tutor, but they are generally not able to teach students the most important study skills of all:

How to study

How to read actively

How to manage time

How to research

How to outline chapters in order to prepare for an exam

How to think creatively

How to write creatively

How to teach himself or herself…not just during the current school year but long term – So he of she does not need either a professional tutor or one specializing in the quick-fix!

Just ask yourself any one of these very simple questions:

How many courses has your son or daughter had over the course of their entire educational experience that has actually taught him or her how to study…effectively?

STEM aside, if our kids cannot read critically, study actively using a system that works for them, and express themselves effectively…how far will they get?

Have you heard of the effects of primacy and recency?

Is your child overwhelmed by the sheer amount of material thrown at them day-in-and-day-out?

The above-mentioned questions, and skills, are just a few of the questions, skills, and issues a professional tutor and a professional tutoring organization will address with your child...must address…if they’re doing their job(s) right. And in all fairness, the quick-fix tutor will not have the time, or the skill, to address these issues. And again, in all fairness, that is not what they’re being hired for!

So what is The Eye of the Storm? And what does it have to do with hiring a tutor?

To understand The Eye of the Storm, let me walk you through an example. The names, schools, and all the rest are fictitious.

Jake and The Eye of the Storm

Jake Wilson is going into his sophomore year at St. Angelo’s High School for Boys. He comes from a middle-class family and has all the advantages. Everyone in Jake’s family understands the value of a good education and is committed to making sure all of the kids go to college. Not just college but a great school, one that will open doors once Jake graduates. Unfortunately, Jake struggled through his freshman year with a 1. 6 GPA; and, while there is no indication of ADD or ADHD, his parents are concerned and have decided not to wait until Jake struggles through another year before doing something about it.

Many parents are now doing what Jake’s mom and dad are doing, hiring a professional tutor for their son or daughter before they are drowning in bad grades, frustration, and depression. Proactive is the only way to be when it comes to a child’s education, particularly in this competitive world! Good grades and test scores are often the difference between college admission and not being able to attend college at all.

What if Jake fails to be admitted to Miami University (the only real institution in this story), the best public university in Ohio and the one almost every kid from Ohio dreams of attending? So, proactive is the only way to be and, much to his parents’ delight, Jake starts out with a bang!

Jake seems committed, and the professional tutoring he is getting in French, English and Grammar, Geometry, and World History are first rate…everything seems to be clicking. The proactive strategy seems to be paying off.

In fact, the proactive measures, including the hiring of a professional tutor, seem to have made Jake into a “new man!” Jake has worked his way from secretly feeling like something of a failure and being more than a little overwhelmed in his freshman year, to having a real sense of where he is going…all in just a few weeks!

All is good with the world, right?

Nope!

You see, Jake sailed through the initial wall of the storm with the help of his professional tutor!

And Jake was not only receiving academic help during his first few weeks back in school, he was receiving plenty of positive reinforcement, as well.

In fact, Jake received equal parts tutoring and positive reinforcement during each session. Yes, Jake is on his way to becoming a “new man,” but the supports were just now being put in place…and there was still a lot be done.

Jake was in The Eye of the Storm:

His grades were up

His confidence was up

He was taking on more responsibility at home

He appeared to be taking on more responsibility at school

He was being to feel he could go it alone and he was anxious to be his own man

All was right with the world!

You see, in Jake’s mind, and in his parents’ minds as well, the storm had passed. Additionally, Jake wanted more freedom, and mom and dad wouldn’t mind having a bit more money in the checking account. So it was agreed, Jake had made a complete turnaround and would no longer need the help of a professional tutor. If he did need a tutor, he could get the help of one of those quick-fix tutors who work for five bucks an hour…or maybe for free.

Remember: You get what you pay for!

Sure, there were a lot of five-buck-an-hour, quick-fix tutors around, and they wouldn’t require the sort of commitment or the sort of work that professional tutor required!

So all’s Jake with Jake, and he’s free to do his own thing!

Sadly, as the back wall of the storm approaches (i.e., more complex subject matter, term papers, essays, midterms, finals, etc.), Jake can’t bring himself to say anything to his mom or dad, he can’t bring himself to admit that he’s struggling again…because then he’d have to admit defeat. And that is something most students will never do!

The 12 Step programs define insanity as the act of doing the same thing over and over again expecting a different result.

If you ask me about The Eye of the Storm Syndrome and how it compares to The 12 Step definition of insanity, I’d say they’re a bit different. I believe there’s a great deal of wishful thinking: the teenage kind, Jake’s kind; and it’s combined with a sense of relief (i.e., finances, time, etc): the parental kind.

Ultimately, the trajectory of Jake’s sophomore year is based on faulty reasoning and not enough experience, which is understandable!

So what happened?

Jake ran into the back side of the storm.Consequently, getting Jake back on the track he was on(a track to all As and Bs), will cost much more time, money, and effort.

I have had a lot of Jake’s over the past 30 years!

I have worked with a lot of Jake’s parents too!

The saddest thing is that, even after all this time, parents still go down that road. Interestingly, I often tell parents and students about The Eye of the Storm Syndromeduring the initial consultation and assessment, hoping it will make a difference. Sadly, they still fall victim to the Sirens’ call. It’s often due to a combination of factors, many I’ve mentioned above.

The saddest thing about Jake’s story?

Many, many times, the student and the parents, especially the parents, won’t admit they took a wrong turn, that they made a mistake. Consequently, they won’t return to the same tutor, whether it’s me or someone like me (in the same business). Sadly, that does even more damage because, as in Jake’s case, the student quite literally starts back at square one!

And that can be devastating for “Jake!”

Let me know if you have a Jake, I’d love to work with him. I specialize in working with gifted students and students diagnosed with ADD, ADHD, Asperger’s syndrome, and the like. Don’t hesitate to call!

I also tutor students who are just working through a difficult period. We work with students regardless of the subject matter of level.

Finally, we work with students preparing for the PSAT, SAT, LSAT, ACT, GRE, GED, ASVAB, and others. If you don’t see it, ask!

If you need help? Any subject, any level, please call!

NOTE: We do not pick up when with students but we check the voicemail often!

Academic Challenges in Today’s Challenging World

ADD, ADHD, Autism, Asperger’s Asyndrome, Traumatic Brain Injury

ACT, SAT, LSAT, GRE, GMAT, or MCAT

Many students and parents have a very limited idea of what tutoring is all about in the 21st Century. The days of the $5 an hour high school-aged tutor coming in after school for a bit of homework help are behind us.

Today’s pre-school, elementary, middle school, high school, college, graduate, and professional school students’ needs have grown exponentially over the last two or three decades. In an era that demands specialization, particularly in math and science-related areas (to include computer science), many students lack even basic communication skills. Significantly, the “video generation” is falling behind in a number of key academic areas…and there seems to be little hope of a remedy any time soon.

Interestingly, our education system appears to be floundering under the weight of increased class size, an emphasis on standardized testing, and a lack of funding. The focus on specialization, instead of emphasizing creative thought and the ability to write well, is having a profound impact on today’s youth…and it is not positive. I am afraid we will end up with a generation of specialists who are unable to think creatively, read and write well, think outside the box, to use a gobbledygook word, and see the big picture. In other words, we will be left with a generation, if not several generations, of specialists unable to think holistically and perform creatively.

Frankly, the thought frightens me…I hope it frightens you!

Tutoring has grown into a profession over the last decade and most professional tutors offer everything from disability services, education-related counseling, online academic services, standardized test preparation, and various forms of student support.

Not only do today’s professional tutors offer access to state of the art computers, desktops and laptops, as well as the associated software, they also invest in and offer access to relevant, education-related membership sites. Additionally, the professional tutor and/or tutoring service must also invest in and offer a substantial library of supplemental material (e.g., textbooks, literature, periodicals, etc.). The investment of time is crucial. Time is most precious and it routinely takes 2-3 hours to adequately prepare for a properly planned tutoring session.

Aside:Fortunately, many teachers still insist their students conduct research offline and a professional tutor will have a myriad of textbooks, periodicals, and relevant material at his or her disposal for their students’ use.

A qualified professional tutor will undoubtedly have an undergraduate degree. In many instances, a professional tutor will have an advanced degree. Optimally, a qualified professional tutor will be comfortable across a wide variety of academic disciplines. It is often the case that students require support across a number of disciplines (i.e., courses, subjects, etc.) and for more than one academic period.

The cross-discipline support is particularly necessary when working with students dealing with such learning disabilities as ADD, ADHD, Autism, Asperger’s Syndrome, traumatic brain injury (TBI), etc.

Hiring a tutor unfamiliar with the demands related to disability services for such students is almost always a waste of time and money and may be costly to the child’s well-being, as well.

Unfortunately, standardized testing seems to be here to stay, at least for the foreseeable future. Consequently, talented educators at every level are forced to teach to test, an unsatisfying and unproductive endeavor, at best. Teachers are held to an unrealistic standard and test results are often tied to wages, job security, and tenure (the topic of another article). Students’ performance on standardized tests for everything from overall proficiency to the right to graduation (i.e., OGT—Ohio Graduation Test) means there is often little time for anything else…anything other than teaching the canned test taking techniques, that is.

In my opinion most of these tests are set to an arbitrary standard, culturally biased, and absolutely unfair.

The GED, PSAT, SAT, ACT, LSAT, GRE, GMAT, MCAT, TOEFL, PRAXIS, USMLE, ASVAB, and so on were once considered appropriate, even cutting edge. The tests listed above are an alphabet soup of tests created to measure intelligence, proficiency, aptitude, and ability. The tests listed above are, in almost every instance, no longer even purported to do what was once claimed. The GED is arguably the only test listed above with some redeeming value…a second chance at a high school diploma.

The pre-college, college, professional school, and graduate school entrance tests (i.e., PSAT, SAT, ACT, LSAT, GRE, GMAT, and MCAT) are now an industry in and of themselves and the acronym is now the test’s sole name. The SAT is no longer the Scholastic Aptitude Test; it is simply the SAT…and so on.

Aside: Interestingly, when the State of California’s university system considered no longer requiring the SAT as part of their admissions process, the SAT writing segment was born. Talk about pull and a purely business decision!

All that being said, the ACT, SAT, LSAT, GRE, GMAT, and MCAT are part of the admissions process for colleges, universities, graduate schools, and professional schools across the nation. In order to prepare for the appropriate entrance test, whether it’s the ACT, SAT, LSAT, GRE, GMAT, or MCAT, a professional tutor is a must.

With intense competition for admission to the nation’s best schools, and equally intense competition for financial aid in the form of scholarships, grants, assistantships, and fellowships, an investment in a professional ACT, SAT, LSAT, GRE, GMAT, or MCAT, as stated above, tutor is a must. Selecting the right tutor is an investment that will pay dividends for years to come.

In fact, even the classroom-type test preparation is better than nothing…but just barely!

Ultimately, a private and completely individualized program, a one-on-one program tailored to the specific needs of the student is ideal. A program offering the above-mentioned features and focusing specifically on the appropriate test is optimal (ACT, SAT, LSAT, GRE, GMAT, or MCAT).

Tutoring has come a long way from the days of the high school student who just wanted to make a few extra bucks after school or the housewife who was “pretty good” in English a few years ago and is trying to supplement the household income. The professional tutor of today must be a well-educated, well-rounded expert. The professional tutor of today must be comfortable working with people under myriad conditions and across any number of different situations.

Finally, the professional tutor must be comfortable with a stressed-out, gifted middle school student going down in flames in advanced geometry, a medical student about to fail gross anatomy, a high school athlete in need of an “A” in chemistry to achieve the required GPA for a full ride to Ohio State and he’s failing 12 weeks from the end of the year, and the high school junior with a 282 on the Critical Reading section of the SAT and has to do better to get into the school of his dreams.

Follow up: The gifted middle school geometry student scored a 100 on his first test after starting working with Westside-Tutoring…and hasn’t looked back! The medical student is now called Doctor by his patients. The high school student needing an “A” in chemistry decided on another Big 10 school, “that one up North!” And the high school junior with the 282 on the Critical Reading section of the SAT? Well, he got a 610 on the Critical Reading section of the SAT on his first try after joining us!

There are so many stories like these, it is truly wonderful!

Are there disappointments? Certainly!

But then…that’s life!

I will say this, any student willing to put in the time and the effort, and blessed with parents willing to allow the process to unfold, as it always does, will succeed. That is, if they are fortunate enough to find a professional tutor, the right tutor able to make it all happen. It can be amazing…and I’ve been doing this for over 30 years!

Tutoring is a wonderful calling, and it is a calling, incredibly challenging and heartbreaking. I wouldn’t do anything else!

For information about the services offered by Westside-Tutoring and Educational Services contact us anytime.